Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Juniper ❯ Training III ( Chapter 7 )

Agent's Spiel:

Naruto will be using alternate means of communication:

Single quotation marks `' will be used to represent sign language.

Back slashes / will denote Naruto writing what he is saying.

Italics mean you are reading the characters thoughts; congratulations on becoming telepathic.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Training

- Day 1 -

“Hey, maybe we should wait to do this till these kids put on a little more weight,” Kakashi heard one of the Chuunin claim from behind him. He turned around, narrowly missing whacking Naruto's head on a branch, and gave Izumo a bored look. “What do you expect of two orphans and a teenage girl who diets constantly? They'll toughen up on the island,” he claimed back.

“Seriously, Kakashi-san, this girl doesn't weigh a thing. The blond looks practically emaciated, and Uchiha looks like he could at least stand to gain some muscle,” Kotetsu piped up, supporting Izumo.

Kakashi fought the urge to growl; if he couldn't squash their sympathy, his fun would be completely ruined. “Add malnourishment to their reports,” he finally said, walking off with Naruto's limp body swinging over his shoulder.

The two Chuunin exchanged a glance and then followed hesitantly with their own charges. “Are you sure you shouldn't wait until they at least know more sign language. Iruka said that-” Izumo was cut off by Kakashi's glare.

“You already spilled didn't you,” Kakashi stated.

Kotetsu nervously chuckled and took a step away while moving Sakura's body so that she was partially shielding him from any attacks Kakashi could launch. “He was very persistent,” he mumbled.

“If he isn't here to stop us then he's allowing it to happen,” Kakashi reasoned.

“Well, he isn't totally against the idea. He just thinks you should wait until their communication improves,” Izumo said.

Kakashi turned around and continued walking away from Team 7's training field. “This will force them to communicate. All three will be forced to adapt their teamwork faster for this than for any normal training sessions,” he explained once he heard the two begin following him again.

When they reached the shore Kakashi quickly removed the genjutsu that hid the small land bridge connecting to the interior island. The three trekked across and laid the three Genin out on the ground. Kakashi pulled out three kunai and the four scrolls he had prepared the night before. He briefly considered hiding all but the first scroll, but he figured Iruka would find a way to kill him if he made the exercise too difficult, that was of course if he managed to live after Iruka found out that he had had to knock Naruto out himself because the poison didn't work on him. He contented himself with placing the three unconscious Genin in compromising positions that would embarrass at least the two that woke up second.

Once the Genin were set Kakashi prepared to leave. Izumo and Kotetsu stayed behind just long enough to reposition the Genin before hurrying after him. They recrossed the bridge and Kakashi activated the genjutsu. It was small enough that he didn't think even Sakura would notice it; the only way the three would ever learn of its existence was if Sasuke miraculously managed to activate his Sharingan, but that wasn't likely to happen until he had been through a few combat situations.

They made their way back to the Sandaime's office and Kakashi prepared himself for the verbal beating he would most likely receive from Iruka upon their return. He was slowly trailing behind the two Chuunin when he noticed them speed up and scurry past the mission room. Just as he was about to pass, two figures snuck out the door and almost knocked into him. “What-” Kakashi's question was cut off when two hands slapped over his mouth.

Iruka and Anko forced Kakashi back out of the line of sight from inside the room before breathing a sigh of relief. “That was a close one,” Anko stated, releasing her hold on Kakashi. Iruka nodded and did the same.

“What just happened?” Kakashi asked a little dazed by the fact that he had practically been assaulted by a Special Jounin and a Chuunin.

“Gai and his team came back. Under normal circumstances I can handle him, but I can't take him and that student of his at the same time,” Anko replied.

Kakashi studied her for a minute before shrugging and continuing on his way. “Kakashi,” he winced as he heard Iruka angrily interrupt his departure, “where are your students?”

“Training,” Kakashi replied, hoping he could avoid a confrontation while Anko was still there.

“Oh? I heard Kotetsu and Izumo talking about some special test you were putting them through. I think they mention you were using the training island,” Iruka informed him.

“Seriously?” Anko asked, “Can I help keep watch?” she added enthusiastically.

“It's not going to be as bloody as it is when ANBU uses it,” Iruka scolded.

“Don't care. Those three'll probably kill each other. I saw that little pink haired kunoichi on your team after you chopped off her hair; she's got quite the temper if she ever allows herself to lose it,” Anko told him.

“She suppresses it most of the time though. I don't think even Naruto would manage to provoke her to the point where she'd let it loose completely,” Iruka countered, walking past Kakashi and towards the Hokage's office.

“Well he might not, but Kotetsu and Izumo don't know not to,” Kakashi admitted following behind them.

“Why would that matter?”

“They're going back later today,” Kakashi stated nonchalantly, ignoring Iruka's suspicion, and pushing in front of the two hoping to reach the Sandaime's office first.

“You mean you're only leaving the kids there for an afternoon? That's boring,” Anko told him.

“I'm leaving them there for two weeks. Kotetsu and Izumo are going to cause problems for them; what they do is up to them,” Kakashi told her.

“And if one of them doesn't realize what they're doing and shocks Naruto?” Iruka asked.

Kakashi froze mid-stride and seemed to consider Iruka's question, before shrugging it off and continuing on his way to the Sandaime's office. “Kakashi,” Iruka intoned threateningly.

“I'm sure they won't do anything stupid; they're just little Chuunin,” Kakashi commented.

“Little Chuunin?” Iruka asked, raising an eyebrow. Anko smirked sadistically and took a step away from the fuming sensei.

“Well they are two years younger than you,” Kakashi reasoned.

“Hey wait a minute, that means they're the same age as me,” she hissed, stepping back into the argument.

Kakashi sighed and reached into his pocket and pulled out a little orange book before walking away from the two. “Look at it this way, you're scarier than both of them so no one's going to call you little. And we all know Iruka isn't exactly a normal Chuunin,” he commented, finally entering the Hokage's office.

“Scarier than who?” Izumo asked, glancing at Kakashi from his single visible eye.

Kakashi ignored his question and glanced around the room. “Where does the Hokage want us to set up the surveillance equipment?” he asked.

“In the next room; it's already ready,” Kotetsu answered.

Kakashi nodded and walked through the open doorway into the smaller room next door. Anko and Iruka appeared next to him a moment later as he looked at the various monitors that had been set up. “How many eyes are out there?” Iruka asked.

“Two for each of the kids, another on Kotetsu and Izumo, and the eighth one just for general surveillance,” Kakashi answered, pointing to the monitors; six of them showed various views of the beach and the three Genin lying motionless on it. Kakashi inspected their positions closely before turning to glare at the two Chuunin cowering near the door.

“You know he would have killed you if we hadn't done it,” Izumo reasoned quietly.

“Who would have?” Iruka asked, turning to the other three men suspiciously.

The Sandaime's entrance stopped anyone from answering Iruka's question. “You've set everything up already?”

“All that's left now is for those kids to wake up,” Izumo answered.

“The two of you should probably head back over there before that happens; there'll be less chance of them spotting the bridge that way,” Kakashi told him, hiding his smirk behind his mask and the orange book still in front of his face.

“Any rules we need to follow?” Kotetsu asked, walking towards the door with Izumo.

Iruka looked towards Kakashi expectantly, but the silver haired man remained silent and Kotetsu and Izumo took it as permission to leave. “Are they at least wearing a headset or something?” Iruka asked, as they walked out the door.

“Oh, right. Wear your headsets at all times,” Kakashi told them, gaining an appalled look from Iruka.

Anko looked between the two and struggled to hide her laughter as Kakashi continued to ignore Iruka. Looking for a distraction, she turned towards the monitors that showed the beach. But this time, only two of the three Genin were still motionless. “Hey, Uchiha's awake,” she said, catching the attention of the three men still in the room.

The Sandaime glanced at the monitors as Sasuke woke his teammates up. “Well, I have a great deal of paperwork to finish; alert me if anything important happens,” he said, as Naruto tried to explain to his teammates that they had been drugged.

“Honestly, they should have been able to understand everything he's told them so far,” Iruka commented.

“Shit, what happened to him?” Anko asked walking up behind Iruka as Naruto struggled to communicate with his teammates.

“He was left mute by the attack from Mizuki's teammate,” Kakashi answered. Anko stared at him in shock for a moment before turning back the screen, staring at the boy in awe. As Sakura made it through the scrolls Anko's mood shifted and she began laughing at their furiousness.

“Was all that really necessary?” Iruka asked.

Kakashi shrugged and frowned as they once again failed to understand Naruto and he was forced to pantomime. As the three separated to set up camp Anko was too busy laughing at Kakashi's astonishment that the girl had picked up the sign for pervert and not the rest of what Naruto had said. She was brought back abruptly when Naruto shed his shirt allowing the scars on his neck to stand out. “Shit,” she muttered. “You normally don't see that on someone without mission experience.”

The tension was broken when the other two returned and they began to decide how to build a fire. Anko was admittedly a bit confused by the twin looks of certainty Iruka and Kakashi were sporting since she was sure they didn't want the same thing out of this. Iruka won out when Naruto pulled out a book of paper matches from his jacket. Kakashi turned to stare at him in disappointment. “Don't look at me like that, it was necessary during his earlier survival training,” Iruka stated.

“You give those to all of your students?” Anko asked curiously.

“Well no, they're actually fairly hard to find on the shinobi continents, but Naruto's typically creative and when we went camping without supplies he hid flint rock in his coat and his team was the only one who managed to start a fire on the first night,” Iruka admitted. “I gave them to him because they're easier to hide.”

“So why exactly are you doing this?” Anko finally asked Kakashi as Naruto and Sasuke set off to find more firewood.

“Kotetsu and Izumo are evaluating them. So are we while we watch,” he told her.

“Does that mean I can write up a really scathing report?” she asked eagerly.

“As long as it makes sense. The more opinions we get the easier it will be to help them improve,” Iruka told her.

“From the way Sandaime-sama phrased it, the auto-pass was given for Sasuke's benefit because of Naruto's injuries. What's the real reason?” Anko asked.

“That is the official reason,” Kakashi told her.

“I don't doubt that. I want to know what the real reason is,” Anko repeated.

Iruka smiled as Kakashi sighed reluctantly. He was saved from answering her when they noticed hurried movement on several of the monitors. “Looks like Kotetsu and Izumo decided to show themselves,” Kakashi commented, snorting at their appearance.

“They read too many of those horror stories,” Iruka muttered disparagingly. “Even Naruto could have come up with something more creative to pose as.”

Anko snickered and watched as Naruto managed to scuttle away from the monster that was Kotetsu and Izumo in possibly the lamest henge disguise she had ever seen. “Not bad. He didn't freeze up,” she commented. “Although considering their form, he isn't as likely to see it as particularly intelligent so this isn't necessarily a good predictor for real life combat.”

Once Naruto returned to camp and began telling his tale, their criticism became a bit harsher. “Once again, they should know most of this. If that scroll you gave them is advanced and they've already forgotten what they learned then it won't be of any help,” Iruka stated.

“Kakashi this is some of the most messed up team chemistry I have ever seen. Why were they placed together? And once more, what was the real reason for the auto-pass?” Anko asked.

“They are more or less blank slates. Sanzo hasn't taught Sakura much, so other than Sasuke, they don't have assets aside from what they learned at the Academy and what they taught themselves. The Sandaime is hoping that this lack of family expertise will allow them to become more generalized and that without certain restrictions to hold them back they will advance more quickly,” Kakashi explained.

“Aside from Asuma and Kurenai's teams these three were the only Academy students that the Sandaime felt were ready to become Genin so he put them together in hopes that they would be able to learn to work together more so than the preset formulas of the other two teams. Kurenai's are preset for tracking. Asuma's for espionage and covert missions. These three will be able to pick up a wider variety of missions; at least that's the theory,” Iruka added.

“So they'll be like little you's,” Anko muttered to herself giddily. As the three Genin sat down to eat she quickly lost interest, and after being assured that nothing was set to actually happen until the next day she left Kakashi and Iruka to their work.

The Sandaime had appeared just as Naruto set about trying to convince his teammates that they needed someone awake to keep watch that night. “Shouldn't they know this?” he asked curiously, when the other two had finally agreed.

“They should know a lot of things. Apparently we didn't give them enough practice so now they aren't communicating properly,” Iruka told him.

“At least they listened to him, even if it was just to shut him up. I probably would have set Kotetsu and Izumo on them if they hadn't guarded the camp properly,” Kakashi added. Maybe now I'll just have them scare Sakura, he added to himself.

- Day 2 -

He went through with his plan the next morning. Sakura had spent her entire shift staring gloomily at the fire, only looking away to send occasional glares in the direction of Naruto's slumbering form. As she began to doze off, Kakashi turned on the communicator and woke up Kotetsu and Izumo. “Head towards the beach, see if you scare her awake,” he told them before they could complain about the early hour.

Kakashi was disappointed to see Sakura startle awake before the two had made it there. He was even more disappointed when she was startled by Naruto and brushed off what she had seen. “She shouldn't have done that. Even if it seemed miniscule she shouldn't just brush it off,” Iruka muttered, leaning forward and brushing the hair out of his eyes and back into its ponytail.

The comfortable silence of watching the trio was broken when Anko surged into the room, precariously swinging a paper bag in her hand, and happily plopped down in between them. “I brought food,” she told them, handing the bag to Iruka just as Naruto and Sasuke started their morning spar. She giggled when Naruto threw a fist full of sand into Sasuke's eyes. “I commend him for making good of use of his surroundings.”

“I commend them both for managing to forget everything they were taught in the academy,” Iruka groaned.

As the three Genin sat down to eat, Anko grew bored at sat back restlessly. “Did the two of you really stay up watching these kids all night?”

“More or less,” Kakashi responded.

“And here I thought I had no life. Don't classes at the academy start up soon? Shouldn't you be finishing your lessons plan or something?” she asked Iruka.

“I'm taking time off from the Academy to work on a few things for the Hokage,” Iruka told her.

“Meaning you're training these brats too.”

“That's only part of it,” Iruka commented.

Anko's chance for fun came shortly after when the Sandaime called Iruka and Kakashi out of the room leaving Anko to supervise the monitors. The minute the two disappeared, Anko flipped on the communicator and greeted Kotetsu and Izumo, “Hey bozos!”

“I take it this isn't Kakashi-san or even Iruka,” one of them grunted in return.

“Of course not. Here's the deal. The three are running their silly laps. Head towards the beach and when they disappear, put out their fire or something to set them back a bit. Make it look like something an animal did,” she told them.

“Fine,” the same Chuunin answered. “I'll have Kotetsu do it.”

“Aren't you two supposed to be working together on this? It isn't vacation you know,” Anko retorted.

“It doesn't take two of us do this sort of thing, especially when we don't have to confront them,” Izumo told her, on the monitors she could see Kotetsu's back as we walked away from the bunker the two were hiding in. Izumo continued to grumble into the communicator, but Anko tuned him out as she watched the three Genin start their third lap. “These kids are pathetic. I hope that isn't their real speed,” she muttered to herself. Running on sand might have been slowing them down a bit but it still didn't account for the weariness on Sakura's face.

“Iruka commented that physical standards, especially among kunoichi in training, have been falling recently,” Izumo interrupted, bringing Anko's attention back towards him and then to the beach where she could see Kotetsu standing rather obviously near the tree line. “Is he holding a bucket?”

“What?”

“You're idiot partner is holding a bucket. Didn't I say you should make this look natural, like an animal could do it? What kind of animal is actually capable of dropping water on a lit fire to extinguish it?” Anko asked rhetorically.

“Umm…I may have forgotten to mention that part.”

Anko turned to glare at the monitor showing Izumo and as if he could feel her glare the man shifted uncomfortably. “Well the damage is done. Not only are Sakura and Sasuke going to believe Naruto about the monster, but now you're going to have more trouble with them because they'll see you as more intelligent,” she finally stated.

“Yeah sure,” Izumo retorted.

“And why isn't he wearing his headset?” Anko added angrily.

“He went out to put out their fire, why does he need one?”

“You're as inept as these kids. What if we needed to warn him that one of the Genin was approaching? What if we needed to keep track of him? I can't tap into your location if you aren't wearing the headsets, just like those kids have to wear those wrist bands,” she explained to him. She would have continued but she heard the door open so she flipped off the communicator and sat back just as Kakashi walked back into the room to observe the remainder of their training for that day.

“Maybe you should have given them more to do,” Iruka commented reentering the room as the trio prepared to leave the beach. “I realize this is a survival test, but they'll get lazy at this rate.”

“If they start getting lazy I'll have Kotetsu and Izumo rile them up,” Kakashi retorted.

“You'll ask them to rile the three up. But Kotetsu and Izumo are just as likely to say no,” Iruka retorted. “You would have gotten better results going yourself or sending Anko. I give them four days before they decide they don't want to listen to your orders anymore.”

Kakashi rolled his eyes in annoyance and pulled out his book. Anko couldn't help but agreeing with Iruka, especially after the duo's performance earlier that morning. The rest of the afternoon passed slowly as the trio attempted to set up a camp. While Naruto's attempts of communicating with his teammates grew more desperate, their understanding grew worse.

As they began setting up the fire, Kakashi had grown bored enough to flip on the communicator and order Kotetsu and Izumo to interfere. He also ordered them to keep their headsets on during the fight.

“By the way, who did Naruto actually hit last night?” Iruka cut in asking.

“Me,” Izumo replied as the two performed a combination henge and took off once again looking like the ridiculous monster they had thought up. Finding the trio's camp was easy enough, although it was interspersed with Kakashi attempting to lead them astray and Iruka cutting in to correct them. “Go after Sakura and Sasuke this time. You've already fought Naruto. Just pretend to brush him off,” Kakashi commented as the two finally landed in one of the trees lining the campsite.

“Why do they think it's going to put out the fire?” Iruka asked when Sakura and Sasuke finally noticed the monster watching them. Anko quickly concealed her giggles and sat back to watch the show. She also noticed that now that he was finally seeing it in the light of day, Naruto didn't look nearly as convinced that the monster was supposed to frightening. Maybe that was the reason he was able to stand his ground when Sakura took off screaming.

The three were apparently having too much fun watching the Genin try to fight against the monster. When Kotetsu and Izumo finally got bored and left, the Sandaime's voice caught their attention. “His healing rate has increased,” he commented looking at one of the monitors that were showing Naruto.

“Not only that but he was the only one who seemed to guess its targets,” Iruka added.

“And the other two aren't paying attention to him. They still aren't expecting sign language so they aren't giving him a chance to speak,” Anko added.

“Their ignorance is going to cause him to lose his cool,” the Sandaime sighed, before straightening suspiciously and listening in as childish shrieks exploded from his office behind the door.

“Konohamaru?” Iruka asked in amusement.

“He'll get bored eventually,” the Sandaime commented using the second exit to the room - the window.

“You know, it's things like that that prove he taught Jiraiya,” Anko snorted, turning back to the monitors as the shrieks next door grew louder. “Wait, why isn't Naruto going back into the camp?”

“Like Sandaime-sama said, he's going to lose his cool. He's angry so he's ignoring them,” Iruka explained.

“I'm a bit more worried about the fact that Sasuke can't seem to find him,” Kakashi commented frowning. “I wasn't happy with their performances individually, but at least it was something to work with. They're weaker together than they were apart.”

- Day 3 -

The three hadn't deemed it necessary to keep watch that night since the Genin were stewing. Kakashi had told Kotetsu and Izumo not to attack until they were given word the next morning and the three had left; Anko had done so angrily since she had a mission and wouldn't be able to watch the rest of the fun.

The next morning, Iruka was happy to note that he had actually made it to the tower before Kakashi. He dropped off his paperwork in the monitoring station and decided to check in at the mission room once he had seen that, of the three Genin, only Naruto was awake. While he was gone, Kakashi finally arrived and, seeing the prime opportunity to ruin Naruto's morning, he flipped on the communicator. “Kotetsu, Izumo, Naruto's barely fifty meters from you at the stream. Block him in to see what Sakura and Sasuke do,” Kakashi whispered.

Iruka returned just in time for Naruto to realize that the monster was in fact perched right behind him. When the monster refused to outright attack Naruto, Iruka grew a bit suspicious. “What did you tell them to do?” he asked suspiciously, right before Naruto sat down and called the monster Pervert.

“Hey what the hell did he just say to us?”

“He said he should call you Pervert as well because you're as annoying as Kakashi,” Iruka replied before Kakashi could stop him from doing so. “Now what did you tell them to do?” he added, ignoring the sounds of stifled laughter coming from the communicator.

Kakashi continued to glare at Iruka as he replied, “Just to hold him there until Sasuke and Sakura arrive to see what they do.”

“What good will that do? They'll blame him for getting into trouble on his own, even though we both know that he could have done nothing to avoid this, and that will make the next two weeks hell for all three of them. This is supposed to be a learning experience; you agreed to hold off on your twisted little test until they were communicating better, and yet here you are doing the same thing over a longer period of time,” Iruka retorted.

Kakashi's glare shifted into an affronted look, with just enough of a hint of amusement that Iruka just knew he had guessed correctly. “This is nothing like my test,” Kakashi finally retorted.

“In order to succeed the three of them have to work together. This isn't just a survival game; they have teamwork exercises that won't be completed if one of them doesn't want to go along with them. You're also playing on weaknesses you already discovered to put them in situations that will destroy the few attempts they've already made to correct these faults. Sakura's already gone back to favoring Sasuke. Sasuke's already trying to take control and find ways to do everything on his own. And Naruto has no clue how to deal with them because even if he did want to work with them he has no choice but to silently go along with what they tell him to do or leave on his own. How is this not like your test?”

“There are no bells,” Kakashi responded lightly pulling out his book and leaning back. Iruka's jaw dropped and he gaped at Kakashi for several moments before forcing his mouth to shut and dropping his heads into his hands.

When the Sandaime arrived to check on them before his first meeting of the morning he realized that Iruka was attempting to stifle his laughter. “Well, any changes?” he finally asked.

“We're just waiting for Sakura and Sasuke to catch up to Naruto and realize that he's in trouble,” Kakashi informed him.

The Sandaime sighed once and glanced at the monitors once before slowly backing out of the room. If Kakashi kept up his games for much longer, Iruka was going to lose his cool and probably resort to his over-protectiveness - he didn't want to be around when that happened.

“Hmmm…this is bad,” Kakashi commented.

“What is?” Iruka finally asked.

“Well not bad, just stupid. Sakura and Sasuke haven't realized what they're walking into and Naruto, Kotetsu and Izumo all have,” Kakashi answered. Of course it got worse when he watched Naruto give up his only weapon to keep the monster from attacking the two and their only response was to scold him instead of realizing how much trouble he was getting in. “Right jumping into a situation without checking surroundings, another point off,” Kakashi muttered more to himself than to Iruka. “Well Naruto certainly takes the most creative way out of situations,” he added as Naruto slipped into the water to allow his teammates to temporarily tackle the monster.

“You told Kotetsu and Izumo to just go after him this time, didn't you?” Iruka asked when the monster followed Naruto to the other side of the river.

“Alright Kotetsu, Izumo that's enough for now. And I may have said something along those lines,” he commented back to Iruka, wincing slightly at the hit the monster landed on Naruto's side and flipping the communicator off.

“That last hit wasn't really necessary,” Iruka retorted, watching in concern as Sakura and Sasuke followed the monster out of the area. “And why are they following it now? They wouldn't the night before when Naruto suggested it,” he added.

“We have a slightly bigger problem,” Kakashi interrupted, flipping the communicator back on. Iruka glanced at him in confusion before noticing that Naruto had disappeared from the two monitors that were supposed to keep track of him. “Kotetsu, Izumo get back to the river immediately. You knocked the kid unconscious and into the water,” Kakashi stated over the radio.

The monster froze and temporarily disappeared from the monitors before reappearing next to the stream. “They just had to knock him in to the deep end,” Kakashi cursed, as the two released the henge and Kotetsu dove in. Izumo skimmed over the top of the water and met Kotetsu on the other side of the stream when he resurfaced with Naruto in hand.

Izumo took Naruto from him and quickly checked to see that he was breathing. “He should be fine. He wasn't left down there for long,” he commented back to Kakashi and Iruka. Kakashi wondered if the two could feel Iruka's glare all the way at the training island and if so if it was even half as intense as it really was right next to the other man.

“Move him back to the other side of the stream,” Kakashi added as the two moved back towards the bunker.

“No time. His teammates are on the way,” Kotetsu stated, as he and Izumo took off through the trees.

“I told you they would stop listening to you,” Iruka remarked.

“They didn't stop listening to me. They just found a way to go against what I said.”

“I think that might have been the worst excuse for losing authority that I have ever heard. And I've spent the last five years coming up with reasons that six to twelve year olds don't listen to their academy sensei,” Iruka commented.

“So that's why you were teaching,” Kakashi muttered to himself again. Iruka shot a glare in his direction and turned back to the monitors to wait for Naruto to wake up and observe Sakura and Sasuke's spar.

Iruka's frown deepened at Sakura's ignorant explanation of what `happened'. Kakashi's frown deepened when Naruto realized his plan…the plan Iruka had cut to pieces by being present during the festivities. “Hmm, Kotetsu and Izumo might have to bother them a bit more now that Naruto seems to have gotten over his anger at least temporarily,” he decided.

“Haven't you had enough of this? You got the information you needed; they spent three days being manipulated further and further apart. The least you could do - if you intend to actually teach them as a team - is to let them attempt to repair some of it themselves,” Iruka retorted. Instead of waiting for Kakashi's reply he decided to return to the mission room for the remainder of the afternoon. Team 7 would be fine as long as their sensei didn't interfere too much.

That night Kakashi told Izumo and Kotetsu to pear down their attacks. Within two days they had stopped completely, although Kakashi was still disappointed that Naruto was apparently the only one who noticed the odd foot prints near the river. When he had tried to explain that another shinobi - older than the three Genin - had to have been on the island, his teammates continued to be distracted from what he was saying and missed the point entirely. Kotetsu and Izumo remained on the island at Iruka's insistence in case any of the Genin decided to kill one or both of the others.

- Day 14 -

On the fourteenth day of their stay on the island, during an intense debate between Sakura and Sasuke about whether or not the first day had counted or if the scroll had meant that two weeks had to officially be over before the last scroll was opened, Naruto had gotten fed up with not being allowed to participate in the discussion, as well as with his teammates in general, and he had gone ahead and opened the scroll.

When the smoke cleared, Kakashi was standing on the island with a look torn between disappointment and amusement. While explaining to the trio that they had been monitored the entire time by cameras and that he hadn't liked what he had seen, two more shinobi appeared from the forest.

Naruto took one look at them and frowned suspiciously. The two only winked cheekily at him and performed a combination henge, taking on the appearance of the monster that had plagued the trio for the first few days. `Pervert, you told them to try and kill me, didn't you?' he asked angrily.

Kakashi grinned at him but shook his head. “That was an accident. Luckily we were monitoring you and saw you fall in. They were the ones that pulled you out as well, which is why you found the footprint the next day,” Kakashi commented, leaving Sakura and Sasuke oblivious to what the two were talking about.

“We have a lot to discuss, but before we do that I want to give Kotetsu and Izumo time to write up their reports. Anko already gave Iruka hers. While I'm going over these tomorrow, the three of you will be meeting with Iruka. If you two don't improve your sign language this team will never work,” he declared turning to Sakura and Sasuke. Sakura sheepishly glanced in Naruto's direction and was surprised to see that he was outright glaring at her.

When he was satisfied that the three understood the plan, Kakashi escorted the Genin back to the village.

Agent's Spiel: Just so you guys don't get confused, the only `assets' Sasuke has are the sharingan, at least it will be when it forms, and the one Katon jutsu that we know his father taught him. Everything else we've seen is stuff he learned at the Academy or taught himself, which is why he's level with Sakura and Naruto.

Also the pacing was a bit odd because I know the timing between comments and their corresponding actions (in the previous chapter) weren't always the same. I tried to fix this, but I didn't want to drag out too much or have a lot of tiny cut scenes or something (just imagine lots of awkward silences between Kakashi and Iruka (and Anko) when little to no action is really taking place with Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke)